Calexico, I went to some of the parties.nThe winners were proud; thenlosers accepted their fate, even thoughnthe results had been close and they hadnlegitimate complaints. Nonetheless,nno one spoke of disrupting the electionnor disputing democracy by force. Innthis respect, Calexico was, as one hostessnput it, “an ordinary Americanntown.” But at those local parties nearlyneveryone was bilingual, able in midsentencento switch from English tonSpanish and back, and within secondsnto switch from one outlook to another.nAlong the edge of two radically differentncultures, the place struck me asnCalifornia’s Berlin.nRichard Kostelanetz is an Americannartist/writer who has voted Libertariannever since the party got on thenNYC ballot.nLetter FromnCalifornianby Gary BurlesonnA Propaganda Team Works A SmallnTownnPosters around town said there wouldnbe a meeting about Nicaragua at thenlocal senior center. The speaker, “Directornof the Municipal Art Gallery”nin a large California city, was going tonshow slides taken during her recentntwo-week tour of Nicaragua. It, ofncourse, turned out to be a propagandansession. She had gone to Nicaraguannot as an objective artistic observer,nbut as a supporter of the Sandinistasnlooking for confirmation of her viewsn—every picture was used to justify ornsoft-sell the Marxist rule.nThe art director’s commentary withnthe slide presentation was rich withnthat special moral language which justifiesnpolice states. We were told U.S.ncorporations giving jobs to SouthnAmerican Indians means exploitation.nWe were told Communist Nicaraguanhad “banned capital punishment.”nThere were pictures of the NicaraguannCommunist government making anstaged “redistribution” of land to then”people,” lined up before the cameranto show their ornate deeds of title.nHowever, the art director’s most subtlenargument, repeated so persistently thatnit constituted the underlying theme ofnthe evening, was that no matter whatndoubts anyone may have about thenrevolution in Nicaragua, the governmentnit overthrew was so terrible thatnanything is better. In that line of argument,nit is simply inconceivable thatnnew governments may be worse thannthe old.nThe art director brought a cell ofnsupporters to the meeting. They scatterednthroughout the room, but by thenend of the meeting it was clear whonthey were. They had come to witnessnthe truth righteously bestowed and tonplay the role of chorus in a classicndrama — with the denouement thatnthe solutions to the problems in CentralnAmerica are Marxist totalitarianndictatorships. The one seated next tonme nodded and smiled with the joy ofnheartfelt affirmation when the art directorntold us the people of Nicaraguanshould be free to determine their ownndestiny.nDuring the “queshon and answer”nperiod at the end (don’t worry, if youncan’t think of a question, one of themnwill), when it became clear to themnmy questions weren’t those of a naivencountry bumpkin waiting to be led innthe right direction, two of them lostntheir bearings and began screaming atnme. I was surprised. After all, this wasna good old-fashioned cadre of revolutionaries.nMaybe they were so emotionallyndrained by the responsibility ofnsaving Central America that theyndidn’t have the mental resources forngood sense, much less civility. One ofnthem yelled in a rage that since Inhadn’t gone on the (two-week guided)ntour of Nicaragua, what right did Inhave to disagree? But propagandanmeetings are primal scenes to revolutionaries.nWhat matters is not knowledgenor “truth.” What matters is thenpriceless joy of indignation.nThe art director’s strategy of appealingnto the compassion and “artisticnsensibilities” of the elderly audiencenwas forgotten, derailed by painfullynobvious questions. Why did the MiskitonIndians rebel against the Sandinis-nANTITRUST POLICY IN AnSOCIETYn”W^^y^-^^^^^K^i–nJoseph D. ReednDavid C, Button andnTim OzennenYale BrozennDominick T. ArmentanonF. M. Sciierern$5.00 PAPERBOUNDnWrite for our free catalog. All orders include ancomplimentary subscription to monthlynImprimis essay series.nHILLSDALE COLLEGE PRESSnHillsdale, Michigan 49242 *^nnnAUGUST 1887 / 37n